Life-saving device.



A. A. KEBL.

LlFk SAVING DEVICE. APx L|cAT1oN FILED mAYlmlsxa.

Patented Mar.'

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ALBERT AQKEBL, 0E BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, Assrenon or ONE-HALE To JAIvIEs J.

' PYCHA, 0E BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

LIFE-SAVING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters ateut.

Patented Mar. 11, V1919.

Application filed May 174, 1918. Serial No. 234,476.

To all zu/wm t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. KEBL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, State `of Maryland, have invented certain Vnew and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to garments which are combined with a life .preserver for sustaining a person in the water, and its object is to provide an inflatable, buoyant device which is so associated with the garment that the latter maybe worn in the ordinary manner without discomfort, the buoyant device being so constructed and arranged that it can be readily inflated.

The object stated is attained by means of a novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that the saine may be better understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawing forming a partV of this specification, it being understood that while the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated, various changes and modifications in the structural details may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the garment spread open, and broken away in part to show the life preserver device associated therewith, and Fig. 2 is a sectional detail on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Referring specifically to the drawing, theV invention is shown applied to a sleeveless body garment similar to an ordinary vest, the same being constructed of any suitable material usually employed for garments of this kind, and composed of an outer layer 5V with a lining 6 on the inner side thereof. The parts 5 and 6 are stitched together, or otherwise suitably united only at their edges so as to leave the space therebetween entirely free and unobstructed. The garment may be provided with pockets as usual, and it is also provided with buttons or other suitable fasteners for holding it closed on the body of the wearer.

The life preserver device is composed of three inflatable bags denoted by the reference characters 7 8 and 9, respectively. These bags are made of rubber or other suitable material, and they are positioned between the layers 5 and 6. One of the bags is located at the back of the garment, and one 1s on cach side, the side bags ext-ending over as far as the front edges of the garment. The combined capacity of the bags, when inflated is therefore suiicient to sustain the wearer in the water.

In order to prevent displacement of the bags 7, 8 and 9, each one has adjacent to the edge of the garment a flap 10 whereby it is fixed to the parts 5 and 6 by rows of stitches 11 passing through the latter and through the flaps.

Each Vside bag has an infiation tube leading to the upper edge portion of the garment and projecting a short distance therefrom so that the wearer may take the projecting' end of either-tube in his mouth for the purpose of blowing air through the same and into the bags for inflating the latter. These infiating tubes are shown at 12, and where they join the bags they are each provided with a check valve 13 to prevent a return flow of the air.

Each side bag is connected by a tube 14 to the middle bag 8, these tubes being also provided with check valves where they are joined to the middle bag, said valves being shown at 15. The middle bag is therefore inflatable from either one of the side bags 7 and 9, and forthe purpose of deflating the bags, the middle'bag 8 is provided with a suitable deflater valve 16.

By providing the connections 14 between the bag 8 and the bags 7 and 9, and placing the check valves 15 in said connections, it will be evident that in the event of puncture of either side bag, the middle bag will remain inflated, so that the wearer will be able to remain afloat with very little effort.

Vrial which lap Yand are stitched together at Y In'testimony whereoi:l I aix my signature Vtheir edges; of iniiatable bags positioned be- Y invpresence of two witnesses.

tween said layers and provided with inat-v ing ineans7 said bags having projecting flaps ALBERT KBB-L' at the side seating between the lapping edge Y W'tnesses:

portions of the layers and secured therebe- E. vWALToN'BREWINGTON7 tween by the stitching. HOWARD D. ADAMS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing fhe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

